Free Children of a New Earth by R. J. Eliason Page A

the growing puddles. The intensity of the storm kept increasing as the day went on. By early afternoon, the winds began to grow fierce. Lunch was dry granola that Larry’s wife had made. They walked on.
    Jacob tried to keep their spirits up by telling them stories. Stories that Amy was sure he thought were motivational, though more often than not, she couldn’t see the point.
    The ponchos worked well against the rain itself. But as the wind grew worse, it whipped the edges of the ponchos and blew moisture under them. Amy was soon soaked and cold.
    The intensity of the storm continued to grow. They walked closer to the edge of the woods, looking for shelter, until Jacob yelled at them. “It is dangerous to be under trees in this wind.”
    So they plodded on making what progress they could, sticking close enough to the trees to block out the worst of the wind, but always keeping an eye out for falling branches.
    The storm did not abate as night fell. Fearful of getting lost in the dark, Jacob found the most sheltered spot he could and called a halt. They huddled together in a narrow gully, struggling to keep their ponchos both over and under them. It was the wettest and coldest night Amy had ever experienced.
    Jacob passed out more MREs. Amy was starved after the long day’s march, but she grimaced at the package. The crackers were soggy as soon as they were opened, and there was no hope of heating the main dish.
    Patrick grumbled as he spooned cold, wet, chipped beef into his mouth. It was the only attempt at conversation. Jacob sat slightly apart from the others. He had nothing motivational left to say. If anyone went to complain, he gave them such a sour look that they stopped.
    The storm ended around midnight. By that time, it was too dark and too wet to unpack the tents. They slept were they were, in a cold, huddled mass. Despite exhaustion, Amy found sleep elusive. She stared off into the night, feeling miserable. Finally, the monotony as much as anything lulled her to sleep.
    When she woke up, she was greeted by a vast, shimmering wonderland. It might even be pretty , she thought angrily, from inside a nice warm bed . Heavy drops of water clung everywhere. Amy shook the worst of it from her hair and stood slowly. She had never been so stiff in her whole life. Her legs were asleep and bore her weight numbly. Her back ached, and her head hurt. Her legs began to burn with pins and needles as life returned to them. She moaned and began to rub them.
    “Think it’s bad?” Horace muttered unsympathetically. “Try it at my age.”
    Even the young men, who only a day ago had spoken romantically about the soldier’s life, now grimaced as another round of MREs were passed out by Daniel.
    “Breakfast in fucking bed,” Larry growled as he took his.
    For Amy, hunger had overcome taste. She ate quickly without relish. When everyone was done, Jacob ordered packs made ready.
    “Walking will loosen us up and dry us out,” he told them.
    It has done no such thing, Amy decided as she splashed through the umpteenth ankle-deep puddle. It was nearly noon, and after four hours of walking, she was sore and tired. No one else seemed to be in any better shape. Even Mark and Patrick were so worn out that they forgot to be mean to her. Shawn, possibly not even realizing who she was, had even muttered “’scuse me” when he bumped into her.
    Shortly after noon, they came upon an open meadow. The ground rose slightly, and the sun shone on drying grass.
    “This is as dry as we are likely to find,” Jacob said as he lowered his pack wearily. “We break early and dry out. Let’s set camp.”
    There was a collective sigh of relief as they all lowered their packs. Luke gathered the driest firewood he could find and, with the aid of some fire starters from his pack, managed to get a blaze going.
    Amy cursed when she discovered her pack had leaked. She heard many of the others cussing. It had been a common enough problem. She managed to